The Mediumish Jekyll Theme has become a popular choice among bloggers and developers for its balance between design simplicity and functional elegance. But to truly make it your own, you need to go beyond the default setup. Customizing the Mediumish theme not only helps you create a unique brand identity but also enhances the user experience and SEO value of your blog.
Optimizing Your Mediumish Theme for Personal Branding
When you start customizing a theme like Mediumish, the first goal should be to make it reflect your personal or business brand. Consistency in visuals and tone helps your readers remember who you are and what you stand for. Branding is not only about the logo — it’s about creating a cohesive atmosphere that tells your story.
- Logo and Favicon: Replace the default logo with a custom one that matches your niche or style. Make sure the favicon (browser icon) is clear and recognizable.
- Color Scheme: Modify the main CSS to reflect your brand colors. Consider readability — contrast is key for accessibility and SEO.
- Typography: Choose web-safe fonts that are easy to read. Mediumish supports Google Fonts; simply edit the
_config.ymlor_sassfiles to update typography settings. - Voice and Tone: Keep your writing tone consistent across posts and pages. Whether formal or conversational, it should align with your brand’s identity.
Editing Configuration Files
In Jekyll, most global settings come from the _config.yml file. Within Mediumish, you can define elements like the site title, description, and social links. Editing this file gives you full control over how your blog appears to readers and search engines.
title: "My Creative Journal"
description: "A digital notebook exploring design, code, and storytelling."
author:
name: "Jane Doe"
email: "[email protected]"
social:
twitter: "janedoe"
github: "janedoe"
By updating these values, you ensure your metadata aligns with your content strategy. This helps build brand authority and improves how search engines understand your website.
Enhancing Layout and Visual Appeal
The Mediumish theme includes several layout options for posts, pages, and featured sections. You can customize these layouts to match your content type or reader behavior. For example, if your audience prefers visual storytelling, emphasize imagery through featured post cards or full-width images.
Adjusting Featured Post Sections
To make your blog homepage visually dynamic, experiment with how featured posts are displayed. Inside the index.html or layout templates, you can adjust grid spacing, image sizes, and text overlays. A clean, image-driven layout encourages readers to click and explore more posts.
| Section | File | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Featured Posts | _includes/featured.html |
Displays main articles with large thumbnails. |
| Recent Posts | _layouts/home.html |
Lists latest posts dynamically using Liquid loops. |
| Sidebar Widgets | _includes/sidebar.html |
Customizable widgets for categories or social media. |
Adding Custom Components
If you want to add sections like testimonials, portfolios, or callouts, create reusable includes inside the _includes folder. For example:
{% include portfolio.html projects=site.data.projects %}
This approach keeps your site modular and maintainable while adding a professional layer to your brand presentation.
SEO and Performance Improvements
While Mediumish already includes clean, SEO-friendly markup, a few enhancements can make your site even more optimized for search engines. SEO is not only about keywords — it’s about structure, speed, and accessibility.
- Metadata Optimization: Double-check that every post includes
title,description, and relevanttagsin the front matter. - Image Optimization: Compress your images and add
alttext to improve loading speed and accessibility. - Lazy Loading: Implement lazy loading for images by adding
loading="lazy"in your templates. - Structured Data: Use JSON-LD schema to help search engines understand your content.
Performance is also key. A fast-loading Jekyll site keeps visitors engaged and reduces bounce rate. Consider enabling GitHub Pages caching and minimizing JavaScript usage where possible.
Practical SEO Checklist
- Check for broken links regularly.
- Use semantic HTML tags (
<article>,<section>,<header>if applicable). - Ensure every page has a unique meta title and description.
- Generate an updated sitemap with
jekyll-sitemapplugin. - Connect your blog with Google Search Console for performance tracking.
Integrating Analytics and Comments
Adding analytics allows you to monitor how visitors interact with your content, while comments build community engagement. Mediumish integrates smoothly with tools like Google Analytics and Disqus.
To enable analytics, simply add your tracking ID in _config.yml:
google_analytics: UA-XXXXXXXXX-X
For comments, Disqus or Utterances (GitHub-based) are popular options. Make sure the comment section aligns visually with your theme and loads efficiently.
Consistency Is the Key to Branding Success
Remember, customization should never compromise readability or performance. The goal is to present your blog as a polished, trustworthy, and cohesive brand. Small details — from typography to metadata — collectively shape the user’s perception of your site.
Once your customized Mediumish setup is ready, commit it to GitHub Pages and keep refining over time. Regular content updates, consistent visuals, and clear structure will help your site grow organically and stand out in search results.
Ready to Create a Branded Jekyll Blog
By following these steps, you can transform the Mediumish Jekyll Theme into a personalized, SEO-optimized digital identity. With thoughtful customization, your blog becomes more than just a place to publish articles — it becomes a long-term representation of your style, values, and expertise online.
Next step: Explore integrating newsletter features or a project showcase section using the same theme foundation to expand your blog’s reach and functionality.